A wireless communication system such as the Motorola Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (IDEN®) combines the capabilities of a digital cellular phone with the benefits of a two-way radio with “push-to-talk” (PTT) dispatch feature. This combining of mobile communication technologies provides for state-of-the-art functions and benefits to mobile users while optimizing the available infrastructure resources such as the Radio Frequency (RF) spectral resources.
When operating in the dispatch mode, the typical cell-to-cell handoff procedure that occurs when a telephone user is on the move is known as “drag and drop” or “hard-hand-off” as compared to the “soft-handoff” that occurs when operating in the cellular mode. During a dispatch mode hand-off, there is usually a period of time during the transition between cells in which the audio may become warped. The dispatch link may also be dropped while a new channel is located by the system. If a person happens to be talking during the time the dispatch communication link is dropped by the system, the person will not know that the link has been dropped and that the other dispatch call participants will not have properly received some part of the conversation. This of course presents confusion to all parties involved in the dispatch call with regard to how much was heard and how much needs to be repeated, once the dispatch channel is reestablished. Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for automatically dropping and reacquiring a dispatch channel that can help minimize some of the dispatch channel handoff problems previously mentioned.